The embodiments described herein relate to apparatus and methods for inserting a device and/or pharmaceutical into a body cavity. More particularly, the embodiments described herein relate to apparatus and methods for inserting an intrauterine device (IUD) into the uterus.
Difficulty of insertion is a significant hurdle to the more widespread use of known IUDs by physicians and health care workers worldwide. Known methods of inserting the IUDs involve four pieces of equipment and multiple operations. In particular, known methods of IUD insertion include the use of a vaginal speculum, a cervical tenaculum, an os finder (when needed) a uterine sound, and the IUD inserter. First, a speculum is positioned to visualize the cervix. Second, the cervix is clamped with downward traction using a cervical tenaculum to substantially straighten and/or align the cervix with the uterine cavity. In certain circumstances, an os finder is used to locate and dilate the cervical os. Third, a uterine sound is used to determine the depth of the uterine cavity, which is the depth to which the IUD will be inserted. Fourth, the arms of the IUD are folded back and tucked into the tube of the inserter. Fifth, the inserter is pushed into the vagina until the health care provider can find the opening of the cervical canal, and then is inserted via the cervix into the uterus to the depth measured by the sounding process. Sixth, the tube of the inserter is pulled back to release the arms of the IUD from the tube at the fundus of the uterus. In some known procedures, the inserter tube is again pushed up against the base of the arms of the IUD to ensure highest achievable placement within the endometrial cavity. The inserter is then carefully extracted from the uterus, cervix, and vagina such that the placement of the IUD is not disrupted. Lastly, the practitioner must cut the IUD strings to ensure that a sufficient length (e.g., at least 2.5 cm) of the withdrawal string is exposed in the vagina.
The insertion of an IUD according to such known methods can often result in misplacement of the IUD and/or other complications. Said another way, known methods of IUD insertion involve a series of precise operations to ensure proper placement of the IUD. Even slight procedural deviations when using known methods and tools for IUD insertion can lead to uterine wall perforations, increased chance of embedding of the IUD in the endometrium, and/or expulsion of the IUD. In addition, it is possible to push microbes from the vagina into the uterus during the insertion process, which can lead to complications such as pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).
Thus, a need exists for improved apparatus and methods for inserting an intrauterine device (IUD) into the uterus that will reduce these risks and allow IUD insertions to be performed by health care providers across all spectra of medicine.